Mattress covering sheet



Oct. 31, 1950 w. L. KEssLER MATTRESS COVERING SHEET Filed Jan. 21, 1949 INVENTOR. Wwmljsef,

BY I WMQ/w/f WW Patented Oct. 31, 19.50

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MATTRESS COVERING SHEET William L. Kessler, Chicago, Ill.

Application January 21, 1949, Serial No. 71,976

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a mattress covering sheet and is more particularly concerned with a sheet of this character formed of knitted fabric material which material is characterized by having substantially greater stretchability in one direction than the other.

It is a general object of this invention to provide a mattress sheet or cover member of knitted fabric material of the character described which is so constructed that the sheet may be quickly and easily applied to or removed from the mattress and when in use is snugly held in position on the mattress.

It is a more specic object of the invention to provide a mattress covering sheet of knitted ma terial whichv is constructed to extend over the top surface of the mattress, around the side and end Walls and for a short distance over the bottom `surface of the same and which is provided with an improved edge construction which insures a snug yielding t on the mattress.

It is a further object of the invention to provide in a mattress cover of the type described an edge binding which is formed of knitted fabric so'arranged that a limited amount of stretch along the edge is permitted to facilitate assembly vof'the cover with themattress while excessive stretch is prevented to thereby insure that the cover will remain on the mattress when subjected to pulling stresses resulting from movementsiof the occupant of the ned of which the l mattress forms a part. v

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the mattress cover which is shown by way oi' illustration in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a View of the bottom of a mattress having thereon a cover embodying the principles of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective View `to an enlarged scale of a bottom corner of the mattress shown; and

Fig. 3Y is a section on the lines 3-3 of Fig. 2, to an enlarged scale.

Heretofore mattress covers have been provided lof woven fabric materials, such as cotto-n or linen sheeting, which consisted of a single piece of the material cut to proper shape and having its corners united by stitching or otherwise so as to form a top overlying the upper surfaces of the mattress, depending walls that overlie the sides and other, more flexible types of mattress construc- (ill tion` results in undesirable wear or damage to the mattress due to repeated bending o-f the same.

It hasbeen proposed to provide a mattress cover of v this character which is formed of knitted fabric of the type commonly used in the manufacture of clothing, such as undergarments. Such material is characterized by being stretchable to a substantial degree in one direction and much less stretchable in the other direction. Such material has very little elasticity in the direction lengthwise of the wales and a considerable degree of elasticity or freedom to expand and contract in a direction crosswise of the wales. A cover formed of such material may be placed on the mattress without bending the latter, but the elastic character of the knitted fabric has made it diiiicult to obtain a cover which will have a snug t on the mattress and which will remain in position on the mattress when subjected to pul1- ing stresses resulting from movements of the occupant of the bed of which the mattress forms a part.

Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated a mattress cover incorporating the principles of this invention, which may be quickly and easily applied to or removed from the mattress without any appreciable bending or folding of the mattress and which when in use will remain thereon in snug fitting and substantially wrinkle-free condition.

As shown in Figs. l and 2, the mattress cover Il) comprises a top I I and depending side and end walls I3 and I4 which are connected at their adjacent end edges `at I5 by stitching or other fastening means. The top II and side and end walls I3 and I4 form a box-like member for covering the upper surface and the side and end walls ofthe mattress. The side and end walls I3 and I4 of the cover I are `provided with eX- tensions It and il which are directed inwardly in parallel relation to the topV il and which are connected at their adjacent ends 'by stitching at IB to form a continuous inwardly extending flange around the periphery of the bottom of the mattress l2.

The top II, the side and endl walls I3 and I4 and the extensions I6 and Il are preferably formed from a single piece of/knitted fabric material which is characterized by having substantial elasticity or stretchabi-lity in a direction transversely of the wales and only slight stretchability in the direction along the length of the Wales. The material is cut at the corners and sewedto provide the corner construction indicated at It and I8 in Fig. 2.

A binding of reinforcement for the inner edges of the flange formed `by members I6 and Il is provided on the cover I0 as indicated at I9. The binding I9 is formed of a continuous piece of knitted fabric of the same general character as the body of the cover, but being closer knit and having more spring, that is, the binding has slightly more stretch lengthwise than the stretch of the cover material and returns to its normal non-stretched condition more quickly than the cover material. The binding material I9 is folded over on itself as indicated in Fig. 3 and the edges are connected to the free edge of the flange member I6 by stitching 2D which permits stretching of the material without breaking the stitch.

The direction of greatest stretchability of the material is indicated by the double arrows in Fig. 2. It is crosswise of the material in the cover and the binding. It is crosswise of the length of the mattress except where the binding extends along the ends of the mattress where the direction of greatest stretch is lengthwise of the mattress. The stretch of the binding in the lengthwise direction where the binding extends along the ends of the cover and the mattress is substantially greater than the stretch of the cover material in the same direction.

With this arrangement of the materials the cover l0 has some stretchability in the direction lengthwise of the mattress and a substantially greater degree of stretchability in the direction crosswise of the mattress. The binding material I9 being arranged with its direction of least stretchability along its length tends to restrict the stretching of the material in the direction transversely of the mattress While permitting sufficient over-all stretch to place the `cover on the mattress without bending or folding the latter. The binding i9 reinforces the edge of the cover` and holds the cover to the mattress when in use, preventing the edges of the cover from stretching beyond a predetermined amount when subjected to pulling stretches by movements of the occupant of the bed.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been described by Way of example, it will be understood that other embodiments may lbe resorted to within the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A mattress covering sheet of knitted fabric i which fabric is characterized by having substantially greater stretch in one direction than the other, said sheet being formed into an inverted box-like member having a closed top for covering the upper surface of a mattress, the fabric 1f being arranged to provide the greatest stretch in the direction transversely of the top, depending end and side walls for covering the ends and sides of said mattress and inwardly directed extensions on the edges of said end and side walls underlying marginal portions of the bottom of said mattress, said extensions being connected at their ends to provide a continuous rectangular ange and a binding of knitted fabric which is also characterized by having substantially greater stretch in one direction than the other, said binding secured to the inner edges of said flange, and said binding being arranged with the direction of least stretch lengthwise thereof whereby said covering sheet may be removably positioned on said mattress and held thereon in snug fitting relation.

2. A mattress cover comprising a body portion formed from a single sheet of knitted fabric which fabric is characterized by having a substantially greater elasticity in one direction than the other, said sheet being arranged to provide a top for covering the upper surface of the mattress, depending side and end walls for coveringthe side and ends of said mattress and inwardly directed marginal portions on said side and end walls underlying marginal portions of the bottom of said mattress, said inwardly directed portions being connected at adjacent ends to provide a continuous rectangular flange member and a binder member secured on the inner edge of said flange member, said binder member being also formed of knitted fabric which is characterized by having substantially greater stretch in one direction than the other and said binder member having the direction of least elasticity extending along the length thereof whereby to hold the cover in removable snug fitting relation on the mattress.

3. A mattress cover formed from a sheet of knitted fabric which fabric is characterized by having a substantially greater elasticity in one direction than the other, said sheet being arranged to provide a top for covering the upper surface of the mattress, depending side and end walls for covering the side and ends of said mattress and inwardly directed extensions on said side and end walls underlying marginal portions of the bottom of said mattress, said inwardly directed extensions providing a continuous rectangular bottom flange member and a binder member secured to the inner edge of said bottom flange member, said binder member -comprising a length of knitted fabric, which fabric is also characterized by having a substantially greater elasticity in one direction than the other, said binder member having the direction of least elasticity extending transversely of said bottom flange member whereby to hold the cover in removable snug fitting relation on the mattress.

4. A mattress `cover formed from a sheet of knitted fabric which fabric is characterized by having a substantially greater elasticity in one direction than the other, said sheet being arranged to provide a top for covering the upper surface of the mattress, depending side and end walls for covering the side and ends of said, mattress and inwardly directed portions on said side and end walls underlying marginal portions of the bottom of said mattress, said inwardly directed portions providing a continuous rectangular bottom flange member and binder member formed from a continuous strip of knitted fabric which is characterized by having a substantially greater elasticity in one direction than the other, said binder member having the direction of least elasticity extending along the length thereof, said binder strip being folded over upon itself about its longitudinal axis with the edges thereof secured to the inner edge of said bottom flange member whereby to hold the cover in removable snug tting relation on the mattress.

WILLIAM L. KESSLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,926,429 Bendelari Sept. 12, 1933 2,159,535 Schulman May 23, 1939 2,162,755 Shauer June 20, 1939 2,191,956 Coldren Feb. 27, 1940 

